Nineteen Canteen

Horses for courses springs to mind and it is probably heresy to suggest but perhaps players like Waigo and maybe even the likes of Lallana and Puncheon should be given the weekend off. These types of game will continue to prove to be wars of attrition than dancing on grass and unless we make some changes the results like those at Wycombe, Exeter and Brentford are likely to continue to intersperse those games where we have the opportunity to show what a great footballing side we can be when conditions dictate.

...when he manages to get the ball from out under his own feet which he just managed tonight. Making ar5es out of defenders at the end of the game when you are 4up is not so diffcult as when you are trying to break down stubborn teams on poor pitches in the first 45mins. Sign Waigo on a free as a super sub but still wouldn't make my starting 11 and hardly the catalyst for change that some may be making him out to be. This is more about seeing the fruits of Pardew's labour / vision than anything else and i woudl be surprised if Waigo privately sits high on his must retain list.

We are getting better a thread devoted to Manager and CEO relations and it's 372 posts before Rupert Lowe gets a mention. Surprising as some of the accusations thrown in Cortese's direction would have had the pack howling at the moon had Rupert Lowe been conducting such activities. The alleged comments that Papa was bought in by Cortese without Pardew's agreement or that Cortese is a regluar in the changing room on Match days are particularly interesting. Even Alpine has no problem with Coretese in the Changing room on match days if it's just a chance to wish the team well exactly the same activity Lowe was lambasted for by the same poster and many other of course and not to mention allegedly acting as a DoF. The reality in both cases may be somewhat different IMO and the appearance of a not obvious 'club loving' chairman in the changing room on match days could be construed as a lack of faith in your management staff. If we have learned one thing in the past 10 years or so, is it not, CEOs upstairs, managers and coaches downstairs? If Cortese's patience has worn thin with Pardew then I don't think that mirrors the perception of the majority of Saints fans and is a very worrying omen for all Saints fans. Pardew's patience expertise has generally met expectation and is clearly building not buying this clubs future. We are grateful to Cortese but not beholden and whilst the investment has been welcome money doesn't always buy success - it can sometimes buy impatience and a disaffected fan base and even an increased in club debt.

The danger with Cortese is that he won't be used to the word no or the need to be patient given his financial background. Being head of Private banking clients tend to do what they are told by said head but Pardew may be a little less submissive. Ruthless can be good and bad and it pains me to quote Dubai Phil but we are all blessed with 2 ears and one mouth and they should be used in that ratio. The danger with senior bankers is that the ratio tends to be the other way around and they believe their own invincibility. Player acquistions were seemingly handled well but were they the right purchases? We can only guess if Pardew's shopping list matched what was delivered.

If, and it's a big if, the rumours are true then the Departure of Pardew would be more bizarre than some recent bizarre managerial departures such as: Ferguson - Peterborough Southgate - Middlesborough Magilton - Ipswich Hughes - Manchester City Fill in the blank [ ] - QPR Curbishley - Charlton (For lacking ambition!) Laws - Sheff Weds Pearson - Saints (For nearly relegating club) Wotte - Saints ( For showing he could honour his 1 year contract for all of a week or thereabouts and laugh all the way to the supermarket for his Amstel) There are no doubt many more examples such as why did Leeds in the 70's relieve two of the games greatest ever managers of their jobs (Clough and Stein) after a time so short it nearly challenged Rosenoir's tenure at Torquay? In all bar the two Saints examples I think it can be readily argued that the club in each case has dug a deeper hole for itself and even if Cortese was that stupid a new manager would want the customary and undefined ' it takes time to build a team' and before you know it promotion wouldn't happen next season let alone the ridiculous expectations on this season. IMO Pardew, not Cortese's revised ambition, represents our best chance of getting out of this division next season as per the original plan. If Cortese has decided to change that plan mid season then the war chest he provided wasn't enough for us to sign the quality of players (Fonte and Puncheon aside) we needed, to turn recent draws into wins. My guess is Pardew is annoyed with the local media and their negative questioning fuelled by a less than helpful press release by Cortese a few weeks ago. Therefore, after a 5-1 win that still has negative connatations to the mendia comments he has IMO every right to be miffed and we can only speculate how his conversation went with Cortese, if any. If he did speak to Cortese my guess again would be that Cortese would have said something like 'good win but means nothing if we don't win on Tuesday night'. Pure speculation and just my opinion of course but would fit in line with his comments regarding the Norwich game and the postings of some of our unrealistic fans. Therefore, like us all occassionaly I think Pardew left work a tad annoyed feeling a bit hard done by, and rightly so IMO, but that doesn't mean he won't return to work tomorrow. However, what a better time to say 'eff it' having proved the doubters wrong and go out on a high and I suspect a few of us have done that as well in our time.

Why don't you try to avoid writing dross?

You assume correctly, pity because Alzheimer's is a charity close to my heart (My father was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers and passed away in the latter stages of the disease with an unrelated condition) but I would need to be in the latter stages of the disease before I agreed to attend an 'Evening with Mike Osman'. Can't imagine Jimmy Carr giving out the phone number for ticket details to unknown individuals who have expressed a mild interest in going to one of his 'gigs' or even the Krankies. I can only assume ticket sales are not going well which is a pity as 450 tickets @10 the Alzeimers Society could do with every penny of the potential £4,500. To all those who would prefer to join Leon on the mountain than attend with Exit2 please login to Leon's just giving website and give up a few quid to what is a very worthy cause. There aren't many illnesses where the person you love fades and dies before eyes and then stays alive and becomes more demanding on your life than a new born baby and usually at a time when life should be about freedom and contentment for those left to look after them. http://www.justgiving.com/Leon-Robbins

The problem is for Bridge he knows like we all do that an in form Terry is more important to England than Bridge. He also knows that he is behind Cole in the pecking order if Cole get's fit in time and as he is hardly at the top of his game his role as understudy for LB could even be challenged by Baines or Warnock. Add that to the probability that he would like to knock the classless Terry even more senseless than he is already (and nobody could blame him) then his presence would be divisive and perhaps he doesn't feel comfortable with the added pressure that would put on him as an essentially squad player. I think Wayne Bridge has been very responsible with regard to his actions and has nothing at all with 'playing up' to the role of victim. I see it as more about moving on with a degree of dignity and ensuring he doesn't damage his playing career with his club any further than it already has and allow him the space to concentrate on improving his form to the full. Bridge can't exactly confront Terry as I am sure he would like and if he did the wronged would easily become the accused. This way he get's to give Terry a proverbial bloody nose and damage his ex-close friend's public profile even further and if Bridge finds that satisfying then I feel it's a satisfaction he deserves considering it has cost him the Mum of his son and one last chance of playing at a World Cup a chance that was simply unteneable as he said. Strong relationships of any kind transcends sport let alone football or any blind ambition for that matter. Terry may be perceived as twice as important to England's Football team but Wayne Bridge is twice the Englishman and I applaud the way he is has conducted himself throughout this whole sorry mess. Terry seems to be in the process of mastering his own publicly despised downfall and Wayne Bridge has just helped him set up the last nail.

I normally just switch my phone off and go to the kitchen and have a chat with her once she has finished clearing up.

Caroline Richardson would probably make it go brown as well. Still for all the faults of BBC regional news it is 1000% better than trash GMTV. How anybody can watch that s h i t e is beyond me with every 10 mins some desperate 'celebrity' trying to encourage you waste a few quid on phone call to win some 'cash'. Turn over Bert ffs.

Georgie Palmer is on maternity leave . Is Laura Trant related to one of our illustrious ex-directors? We are not blessed with any quality on South Today with the exception of Georgie 'Pantene' Palmer. The 3 weather ladies all seem a bit frumpy and the blonde one is frankly a bit weird. Then we have Sally 'wheres the volume control' Taylor, Bungay (don't mean Stuart Norvell), Caroline (see a dentist and possibly a bath) Richardson, Laura 'a bit uptight' Trant and Dani Sindhar who has possibilities but still can't work out what exactly is wrong with the face. Dani is the only one who concentrates on the news instead of the jokey and somewhat embarrassing banter (especially Norvell) enter into with the weather presenters and his imaginary friends in London. Does he know Bill and Sian aren't listening or even know who he is? Was half watching a old rerun of Love Actually with my wife the other week and Norvell reminds me of Hugh Grant's book shop asistant and I can imagine him furtively flitting through the corridors of BBC south in pretty much the same fashion. All the blokes who present on South Today lack any sort of gravitas with the possible exception of Richard Johnson who continues to surprise by popping up on the BBC news channel and the odd spot of MOTD commentary but I can't stand how they all pamber to Taylor who really needs to go the more creased she looks. Perhaps it's time for Johnson to be given the role full time of South Today Anchor and leave Taylor to her - SATURDAY SHOW ON RADIO SOLENT - DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO HER ON THAT SHOW!?

I agree its the service to those shooting boots that is the problem. We missed a few chances tonight but how many did we create?

I have been voicing concern over our central midfield for a while now and the lack of cover we have for Schneiderlin and Hammond. Feel that concern is now vindicated lose one of those two players and we lack the bite to tackle some of these teams who play with a game plan to spoil first and win second. Pitch is irrelevant IMO and same for both sides and perhaps we have to many 'light' show pony players who expect a billiard table surface at this level. Seaborne was an unnecessary purchase and we should without a shadow of a doubt bought a Central Midfielder or put Gillett and not Wotton on the bench!

Everytime I am hopeful of a good win, we lose or draw and everytime I fear we will lose, we go and win well. I am very hopeful of a win tonight If we carry on the form last Saturday and for 60 minutes of the Pompey game we should play them off the park. However, that represents only 2 hours of football and our performances in the league since mid-December have been a bit iffy and even the MK Dons JPT game at home wasn't the most inspiring. Prior to Norwich our last 3 away games in the league all finished 1-1 (Exeter, Brentford and Millwall) and on balance were disappointing. We hardly trounced Wycombe back in early December with a 1-0 win at home and whilst we have made some good signings we hardly fielded a bad team that night with a solid looking back 4 with Murty at RB and the alleged threat of Waigo up front with Lambert in the midst of his purple patch. If Pardew can play the same 11 and formation then I remain hopeful but not overly confident as our record this season suggests it has draw written all over it. Perhaps the team that started against Norwich is Pardew's first choice 11 and if so I hope then can start to rewrite this season's records book. If so and we win convincingly then maybe our odds for a play off place will tumble into 100/1. The key to our season remains our central midfield pairing and if Schneiderlin carries on his antics from Saturday he will start to make himself an easy target for a wiley opponent and Hammond IMO still needs to improve and calm down some of his more borderline challenges as neither are readily replaced despite the ridiculous size of our squad. To have one of those two out through injury or suspension will see our slimmest of play offs hopes finally snuffed out. Wotton is no more than a stopper and really ony useful to help us to play out a game and protect a lead, James is to lightweight, a useful utility player but doesn't have the same bite or defensive awareness in CM and having him there would run the risk of our opponents running their proverbial hot knife through the butter of our midfield. We have Gillett who based on last season's form would offer us his terrier like ball winning qualities but clearly is not rated by Pardew and as football is best played by conident players I am not sure a marginalised player like Gillett could easily come in and fill the CM role without a few games to build that confidence. A confidence that at best would be fragile knowing in the case of a ban he would be only a temporary solution with little hope of retaining his position regardless of performance. So a win please and I would like to see a calm, confident, assured and strong performance from Schneiderlin and Hammond and show they have the ability and temperment to play out the season as they are the absolute key to our success with no obvious replacements.

I had the same issue ordering the £44 tickets in same blocks. No concessions but if you select same blocks with a ticket price of £34 you get your concessions in the drop down menu or try moving blocks which what I did in the end. Like SMS I expect some prime blocks are sold without concessions.

It was made clear on the OS that tickets would not be sold at the windows until they went on general sale. Not sure what some people's problems are. The only issue I had on line was that concessions didn't seem to be available in some blocks / price bands but change the block or price and they appeared. Very happy with my 4 tickets 2 adults 2 juniors and booking confirmation recieved via email so all fine and dandy and remember tickets are not being sent out for a few weeks just in case Dune starts going into one about 2nd class service/post.

It's certainly possible with 12 points to play with but on balance you would have to say it's not probable. People sight the fact our record against teams in the top 10 is poor but the way the team shaped yesterday you could easily argue that is now a meaningless statistic and if we were 10 games into the season we would have an excellent chance of promotion. I would consider our biggest obstacle to promotion is our fixture congestion as we near the 28th March the obvious focus on the JPT and the resultant hangover. Pardew has admitted his focus has been on the cups this season and will badly want to win and be vindicated and sub-consciously or otherwise it may have an impact on how he approaches the league games nearer to the final not to mention players who may play in league games with one eye focused on protecting their fitness as much as winning. Surely, that is only human for players likely in some cases to have a chance to play at Wembley for their first and may be only time. The occassion will potentially take the wind out of our sails as it did with Leeds with their high profile success in the FA Cup. We have an easy looking run in but playing teams at this time of year battling for their survival is as difficult as playing the teams you are in direct competition with as Wycombe proved against Millwall yesterday. Ideally we want to be playing teams who have little or no hope of having anything to play for and at the moment I can only see about 6 of the last 17 games being against such opposition. Saying we will beat the likes of Southend, Gillingham, Wycombe, Brighton Hartlepool and Tranmere is a huge assumption as at this stage league position does not equate to the survival instinct that kicks in an instinct that we know all too well from our successful battles in the past. Personally, the most winnable games will be against the likes of Leeds, Charlton, Swindon and Huddersfield as the expectation on Saints will perhaps be a little less and when teams try to play against us we are usually their superior. In a somewhat peverse conclusion perhaps the ease of our run in and the morale booster of a Wembley final may well see us just miss on a play off place. If that is the case and we finish around 8th on c.70pts that is hardly a disgrace and one hell of a foundation to win the title from next season.

IMO yesterday proved that Papa is one loan that we won't need to consolidate. Useful sub to have at our disposal until the end of the season but unless we get can get him on a free and on a reasonable wage for a L1 player then we can afford to dipense with his services come May. Fancy flicks and toothless if pacy threats are not going to win us promotion this season or next.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Why not play all 3 in a 4-5-1 and drop Waigo and play Lallana in a central attacking /midfield role with H & S in behind.

Pity we play on grass

World class players don't play in league 1 or the championship only ex-world class or potentially world class of which Papa is neither. He is a professional player in the prime years of his career who is entertaining to watch if for nothing else than his undoubted unethusiasm for the game. However, is he the player we need to help push us up the leagues? Absolutely not - all threat no action and the strength of a damp tissue in the 6 yard box.

Very sharp

I just enjoyed the comment 'and stayed there for 9 years' as if he had a choice in the matter but I take your point.

Your representation about the 'fan' or to be more accurate your arbitrary and fanciful faeces.